Bag supporting and closing mechanism having slidably mounted pronged holding rollers



Aprll 4, 1950 w. w. WINDLE BAG SUPPORTING AND cLosING MEGHANISM HAVING SLIDABL MOUNTED PRONGED HOLDING ROLLERS Filed Nov. 28, 1944 IJIII INVENTGR. M M M/vm f Bry Patented Apr. 4, 'vn/1950 uNrrEo-STATES PATENT OFFICE BAG SUPPORTING AND CLOSING MECH- ANISM HAVING SLIDABLY MOUNTED PRONGED HOLDING ROLLERS Winfrea W. Winaie, Millbury, Mass.

Application November 28, 1944, Serial No. 565,443

1 claim. 1

I This invention relates to bagging machines and particularly to those using power in the operation thereof.

Objects of the invention include the provision of power operated means for forcing the lipsof a lled bag together and at the same time holding said lips in position to be secured together as by sewing, clipping, etc., to close the bag; the provision of a bagging machine as above stated wherein the bag is lled in horizontal position and the lips of the bag are secured together along the side of the bag forming a longitudinal seam, the two ends thereof being originally closed; and the provision of a power operated bagging machine comprising a pair of rollers provided with means for securing the mouth of the bag thereto, said rollers being separated for the filling operation and being brought together by power operated means to close the bag after the same is lled, and holding the bag mouth closed in convenient position for securing the lips thereof together.

Further objects of the invention include the provision of a bagging machine comprising a frame, a pair of parallel rollers mounted on said frame for movement to and from each other, and including means for so moving the rollers comprising a power operated shaft operatively connected with both rollers for moving the rollers together; and the provision of a bagging machine as above stated including a series of pins on each roller and means to maintain the rollers with the pins selectively in vertical upright position and in substantially horizontal position, the former being utilized to hold the bag open when it is empty and during the lling operation and the latter position being used to hold the lips of the bag together while said lips are being secured as by sewing, clips, etc.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter. y

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan View of a bagging machine according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of arrows 2-2;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3--3 of Fig. 1 showing the arrangement of the drive mechanism for the rollers; and

Fig. 4 isa section on line 4--4 of Fig. 3.

As illustrated in the accompanying drawings, the present bagging machine comprises a frame made up of legs I which may be supported on the ground or floor, longitudinal front and rear structural members I2 securing the legs together, and end members I4, the latter conveniently being in the form of channel-irons having inwardly directed top and bottom flanges I3.

The channel-irons form guideways for travelling half nuts I8 which mesh with right and left hand screw threaded shafts 20, there being one such shaft located in each channel-iron I4. Shafts 2li may be journaled at their ends as at 22 and also intermediate the ends thereof as at 24, if desired.

Nuts I8 are slidable in the channel-irons and are adapted to receive and journal shafts 26 for rotation with respect thereto, and shafts 26 support a pair of rollers 28. Rollers 28 are provided with pins 30 extending radially therefrom for a purpose to be described. Each roller 28 is provided with a latch comprising notches 32 and a pivoted lever 34 which is mounted on a nonrotatable part of the machine as for instance on the nuts. When the lever 34 is engaged in either notch 32 the rollers will be held against rotation but it will be seen that due to the notch arrangement it is possible to hold the rollers at positions apart. The notches are so placed that the pins may be selectively held in upright vertical position or in horizontal position facing each other as indicated in Fig. 1 at 36.

A drive shaft 38 is provided and this drive shaft may drive the screw threaded shafts 20 in any manner desired by means of a small electric motor or the like. In the present case the shafts are connected through bevel gears 40, jack shaft 42, and bevel gears 44 so that the rollers are travelled equally and simultaneously so as to avoid any twisting or friction between the rollers and the guiding channel-irons I4. If desired, strips 46 may be secured to the rollers for supporting the bottom of the bag.

In the operation of the machine the rollers 28 are separated so they will appear as in Fig. 1 and they are rotated so as to present the pins 30 upwardly and vertically. In this position the latch arm 34 is actuated to maintain the rollers against rotation and a bag 48 is secured in open position to the rollers by piercing the material of the bag with the pins 30. With the bag in this position, the same is filled by theoperator of the machine and when sufcient material has been placed in the bag, the operator will operate the motor controls so as to rotate shafts 2U to bring rollers 28 toward each other as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. When the rollers have reached the end of their travel toward each other the power shaft is stopped and the latch is actuated to allow the rollers to rotate toward each other under influence of the weight of the bag contents to present the pins 30 in the position shown in Fig. 1 so that the lips of the mouth of the bag will be held together for the purpose of securing them as by sewing or by any other desired means. It is to be understood that the present invention relates to a machine which may be of any'd'e'sired length according to thesize of the bag to be filled and that the only labor necessary is to arrange the bag on the pins and to il' the same, the bag closing being completelyz aci-- complished by power means.

Having thus described my inventionI and the advantages thereof, I do not Wish toy be: limited. to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claim, but WhatL claim' is:`

In a device of the class described, a frame, spaced guideways therein, a right and left hand screw shaftvin each guideway,. a pair of nuts on each shaftY for motion to and' from each other as" the shafts are rotated', a roller journaled' in each corresponding pair of nuts for planar m tion therewith, bag holding pins on each roller, a pair of circumferentially spaced notches in each roller, a lever for each roller for selective location in either notch to hold the rollers with the pins up or directed toward the other roller, the Weight of the bag contents providing for rotation of the rollers from the'up position of" ther pins to the other positiontherleof wherein the. bag edges may be secured together while held by the pins when the rollers are in adjacent position, and means to rotate. the shafts.

WINFRED W. WINDLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the :lle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 661,091 Tmewell Nov. 6, k 19.00

220792132 Stathern'" May 4, 1'93'T' 

